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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Six GREAT English Expressions~


I got a little distracted
To “get distracted” means to “lose your focus or concentration”. When there is loud music playing, can you study? Probably not. The music is distracting you. You are distracted by the music. You get distracted by music. What else distracts you? When I drive, I prefer that no one talk to me because I don’t want to get distracted. However, the radio does not distract me^^ When I am typing this lesson, please don’t ask me questions—that would distract me!
Tell us what or who distracts you the most. When you read, try to sleep, watch TV, drive…

Out of the blue
All of the sudden, suddenly, out of the clear blue, out of the clear blue sky, unexpectedly

If something happens “out of the blue”, it happens suddenly. The idea is that “something suddenly fell from the sky” and you didn’t realize it “until it was IN YOUR FACE!” 

Would this be possible?
           I won the lottery out of the blue.
No, not possible. In order to win the lottery, you must buy a ticket. Therefore you “prepared to win” the lottery so the winning was not sudden.
However…
           I bought a lottery ticket out of the blue.
That’s possible—it means that SUDDENLY, with no plan or intention, you decided to buy a lottery ticket^^

Typical things that happen out of the blue are:
Accidents
Getting sick or dying
Meeting people
Hearing shocking news

Has anything “out of the blue” happened to you recently?

I’m in awe of ~
To be “in awe of something” means to have deep respect for something (or someone). The feeling is not only respect, but also has a bit of fear and/or wonder, too. 

I’m in awe of his intellect.
I’m in awe of his power.
I’m in awe of his strength.
I’m in awe of his linguistic ability.
I’m in awe of his wealth.
I’m in awe of its usefulness. (My iPhone!)
I’m in awe of its ruggedness. (My jeep)
I’m in awe of its snobbishness. (My cat)
 Are you in awe of anyone or anything? Tell us!

He works out
He exercises, he keeps in shape, he lifts weights, he runs/jogs…

Do you work out? We all NEED to work out—at least a little. A short walk is better than nothing. For “lazy” people, try getting off the bus or the subway a stop early. Those 5 to 10 minutes of walking will really help^^

What kind of exercise do you do?
I go hiking on the weekends.
I run three days a week.
I do yoga.
 If you don’t exercise, why not?
I don’t exercise because I don’t have enough time.
I don’t exercise because I’m too lazy.
I don’t exercise because I’m already in good shape.

If you had the time, what kind of exercise would you love to do?
If I had the time, I would love to train for a triathlon.
If I had the time, I would like to swim before work.
If I had the time, I would love to play ping pong!

We ran out of ~

If you “run out of A”, you don’t have any more A. You are temporarily out of A. You sold (ate/used/consumed) all of you A, but you will get more^^

Are you out of anything?
I ran out of ketchup. I need to go to the store.
I need to buy gas before I run out.
The store ran out of strawberries. I’ll have to go back tomorrow.

Fill this out
“fill this out” and “fill this in” are BASICALLY the same. They both mean—write down the information asked. However, if we get picky… “to fill something out” means that you should write more information whereas “to fill something in” means that you only need to “fill in the blanks”.

Which test would you prefer: a “fill in” test or a “fill out” test? If you prefer SHORT ANSWERS, you only need to fill in the blanks. If you prefer ESSAYS, you must fill out the answers^^

It’s easy to remember:
out”…outside…far…distant…a long way…a lot…Write A LOT^^
in”…inside…a small area…a little…Write A LITTLE^^
When do you “fill something out”?
When do you “fill something in”?

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